The Story of Stari Most

Arching almost impossibly high over the vivid emerald waters of the Neretva River, Stari Most is an architectural icon in Bosnia & Herzegovina. But there’s more to this picture-perfect view than meets the eye…

Stari Most is the jewel in the crown of Mostar, a city we discovered entirely by accident. This is a long story, which has a lot to do with missing the once-a-day bus from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik, and deciding that any bus heading in vaguely the right direction would do. As it happens, this bright idea did not solve the ‘how to get to Dubrovnik’ dilemma (answer: 60€ of international taxi), but it did lead us to Mostar.

Mostar almost instantly captivated us. When we returned to the Balkans the following year, it was firmly at the top of the list. The famous Stari Most bridge was the undisputed highlight of both visits.

Constructing a masterpiece

The Ottoman Sultan ‘Suleiman the Magnificent’ commissioned the bridge’s construction. He wanted to replace the old, terrifyingly rickety, wooden bridge. To achieve this, he secured the services of famous architect Mimar Hayruddin to design the new structure. At the time, it held the honour of being the widest manmade arch bridge in the world.

The bridge took nine years to build (1557-1566) and had no foundations. Instead, a nifty combination of metal pins and – remarkably – egg whites held it together.

The design was so complex that, according to legend, Hayruddin arranged his funeral on the day of the scaffolding’s removal. The poor architect was utterly convinced that the bridge would collapse into the river once unsupported. Naturally, he expected to face the consequences, but he needn’t have worried.

For 427 years, the bridge stood firm. It witnessed everything from the expansion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to two world wars, and even the creation of Yugoslavia. Somewhere along the way, it also became home to a centuries-old diving tradition. Young men leap from the highest point of the bridge, plummeting 24 meters into the freezing waters of the Neretva.

A violent fate for the original Stari Most

Despite standing for centuries, Stari Most’s remarkable run ended in the 1990s. The breakup of Yugoslavia had engulfed the Balkan region in conflict. Battle lines were drawn, and Mostar found itself a divided city on the frontline of the bitter Bosnian War.

By the end of the first Siege of Mostar (1992), Stari Most was the only remaining bridge connecting the Western (primarily Croat) side with the Eastern (primarily Bosniak) side. Whether the targeting of Stari Most was solely a strategic military decision, or was (at least in part) a quest to destroy a culturally significant monument, is a contested point. Nevertheless, it’s officially acknowledged that Croat forces deliberately targeted Stari Most.

Protected only by car tyres tied to its arch, the bridge somehow absorbed hit after hit from snipers and mortars. However, this all changed on 9th November 1993. Bombarded by 60 Croat shells, the bridge finally succumbed to the relentless battering and crumbled into the river below.

Rising from the rubble

After the destruction of Stari Most, authorities constructed a temporary cable bridge to allow people to cross the river. However, the iconic bridge remained at the forefront of many minds. The initiative to rebuild Stari Most began shortly after the war. For many, the reconstruction represented far more than simply rebuilding a bridge. Stari Most had represented the literal connection between different sides of an ethnically divided city. Therefore, everyone hoped that the rebuilt bridge would help the post-war reconciliation process.

Overseen by UNESCO and the World Bank, the new Stari Most was built to the exact specifications of the old. Workers even used stone cut from the same quarry as that used by the Ottomans. In addition, in a fitting nod to the bridge’s centuries-old diving connection, divers recovered original stones from the riverbed to use in the reconstruction.

In 2004, the new Stari Most was inaugurated. The ceremony featured – of course – nine divers jumping from the bridge holding flaming torches.

Nowadays, Stari Most is a highlight of travelling in Bosnia & Herzegovina. It attracts visitors from across the globe. Travellers are equally enchanted by the bridge itself and the divers who pose atop it, waiting to dive into the chilly emerald waters of the Neretva. Whilst Mostar remains, to an extent, an ethnically divided city, the reconstruction of the majestic Stari Most was a crucial step towards reconciliation.

Visiting Mostar

Unusually for the Balkans, Mostar does have an operating train station. The train between Sarajevo and Mostar runs twice per day, taking about 2.5 hours. The timetable is available on the national train network website. Alternatively, there are frequent bus services to Sarajevo and other cities within Bosnia & Herzegovina as well as Croatia (Zadar, Split and Rijeka being the most frequent). We found BalkanViator an invaluable site for working out bus routes in the Balkans, particularly international routes.

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